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Authorities from the Yinan County People's Court have postponed Chen Guangcheng's trial indefinitely, according to a July 19 Chinese Rights Defenders (CRD) report (in Chinese). Chen Guangcheng is a self-trained legal advocate who drew international news media attention to population planning abuses in Linyi city, Shandong province in 2005. Local authorities placed Chen under house arrest in September 2005 and arrested Chen on June 21, 2006.

Authorities from the Yinan County People's Court have postponed Chen Guangcheng's trial indefinitely, according to a July 19 Chinese Rights Defenders (CRD) report (in Chinese). Chen Guangcheng is a self-trained legal advocate who drew international news media attention to population planning abuses in Linyi city, Shandong province in 2005. Local authorities placed Chen under house arrest in September 2005 and arrested Chen on June 21, 2006.

Court officials postponed Chen's trial in response to the procuratorate's request for additional time to gather evidence, according to a July 21 New York Times article. Court officials first postponed the trial date earlier this month, when they moved it from July 17 to July 20, according to a July 10 Voice of America report (in Chinese). Court officials notified Chen's lawyers of the second postponement just two days before the anticipated July 20 trial date, and said that they would provide notification of a new trial date three days before it takes place, according to the July 19 CRD report. Article 165 of the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) allows for postponement of a trial in the event that the procuratorate requires supplementary investigation. Article 166 of the CPL limits the period of supplementary investigation to one month. Under Article 151(4) of the CPL, court officials are required only to notify the defense "no later than three days" before actual commencement of the trial.

On July 20, unidentified assailants beat and authorities took into brief custody over 10 rights defenders who had gathered outside the Yinan county courthouse to show their support for Chen, according to a July 20 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report (in Chinese). The rights defenders were part of a group of 200 who had gathered outside the courthouse, according to a July 21 New York Times article. Assailants beat the group of rights defenders, which included lawyer Gao Zhisheng, writer and activist Zhao Xin, and university professor Sun Wenguang, as they posed for a picture outside the courthouse, and seized their camera equipment and other property, according to RFA. Police officers who arrived on the scene released the assailants and took the rights defenders in for several hours of questioning at the local public security bureau, according to RFA. Later that day, unidentified assailants standing guard outside Chen's home village beat Gao Zhisheng, Zhao Xin, and others who tried to deliver gifts to Chen's wife and family. These beatings continue several weeks of official harassment and violence against legal scholars and advocates who have attempted to participate in Chen's criminal defense. Since October 2005, officials reportedly have been responsible for multiple attacks by unidentified assailants on Chinese citizens who challenge local government abuse of power.

Authorities have targeted Chen's relatives and neighbors for harassment and detention since February.

On February 5, officials detained Chen Hua, Chen's neighbor and relative, after several hundred villagers clashed with public security officials while protesting Chen Guangcheng's prolonged house arrest. Authorities released him on February 12.

On February 13, officials detained Chen Guangdong and Chen Gengjiang for their participation in the February 5 protest, according to a February 20 CRD report. Officials detained Chen Guanghe on February 23, according to an RFA report (in Chinese) on the same day. On March 22, officials issued formal arrest warrants for the three, charging them with intentional destruction of property, according to a March 30 CRD report.

On March 11, officials detained Chen Guangjun and Chen Guangyu together with Chen Guangcheng to investigate them for gathering people to disturb traffic order, according to a March 15 CRD report. According to CRD and a July 20 Associated Press report (via the Washington Post), the three were on their way to file a police report against four unidentified assailants who had beat Chen Guangyu earlier that day. On April 18, officials released Chen Guangjun and Chen Guangyu on bail to await trial, according to an April 20 RFA report (in Chinese).

On June 19, at least 10 unidentified men took Chen Guangcheng's mother, son, and brother Chen Guangfu from a home in Beijing, where they had planned to hold a press conference to publicize Chen's detention, according to the June 20 South China Morning Post report (subscription required). The men returned the three to Shandong province, where they held them under house arrest, according to a June 21 RFA report.

The Washington Post reported on July 21 that authorities are currently holding Yuan Weijing, Chen's wife, under house arrest.